The Strumbellas: a 3-song Junos primer

Published

Genres

Advertisement

Now with 11 acts and artists confirmed to perform so far (Feist was most recently announced for a tribute to Leonard Cohen), this year’s Junos broadcast on Sunday, April 2, promises to be one of the biggest in the award ceremony’s history.

From emerging artists like Ruth B to established acts like Sarah McLachlan and Billy Talent, there’s something for every music fan, and there are also a lot of great opportunities to discover exciting, new-to-you artists for your earbuds — to punch up your playlists or add to your record collection, or scope out for when their tours come to your hometown.

Think of the live Junos broadcast as an opportunity to survey just a little bit more of the country’s music scene, its depth and breadth, and then keep checking back daily as CBC Music posts its handy three-song primers for each artist and band to help deepen your appreciation of all these great musicians.

The Strumbellas

The Toronto-based group hit it big in 2016 with its single “Spirits,” a song so ubiquitous that by now probably half of all Canadians know the words, even if they’ve never heard the word "strumbella" in their life. The song, the first off of the band’s third album, 2016’s Hope, even earned the Strumbellas a spot on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

This isn’t an overnight success story, though. The band started playing together in 2008, and released its first and second records back to back: My Father and the Hunter came out in 2012, followed by 2013’s We Still Move on Dance Floors. Flash forward to 2017, and the Strumbellas are up for three Juno Awards, including single of the year.

Below are three essential songs that provide a bit of shape and context to the band’s evolving sound to help you get to know the Strumbellas.